Direct customer engagement the cornerstone of Cirralto’s new business model
Cirralto has signed 15 contracts in the 1st week since it has changed its ‘go to market’ strategy.
In its first week operating under a “go to market” business model, Perth-based technology company Cirralto (ASX: CRO) has signed up 11 new customers and re-signed four existing contracts, equating to $375,000 of revenue and signalling a turnaround for the company’s books.
The signings are part of the new “Direct to Cirralto” strategy which will see the company engage directly with its customer base after opting out of Telstra’s Digital Commerce program, which acted as a conduit between Cirralto and its customers.
A major restructure this year within Telstra (ASX: TLS) and a rationalisation of its product offerings to the Australian market resulted in Cirralto initiating the “Direct to Cirralto” business model, issuing contracts directly to its customers to replace previous ones held directly with the telco giant.
Telstra’s restructure impacted Cirralto’s operational performance and temporarily suspended its contracting and invoicing processes, in turn impacting revenues and cashflow for the 2018 financial year.
In July, Cirralto said it was confident the impact to its financial performance would “recover quickly”, citing the overall effect of the switch from Telstra would be a “net zero impact” over the term of each customers’ engagement.
Partnership offers a “complete solution”
The “Direct to Cirralto” strategy will enable Cirralto to establish direct agreements with its customers, broaden its solutions offerings and provide greater flexibility in customer financing options provided through a recent partnership with Australian-owned, non-bank Classic Funding Group.
Announced in July, the partnership aims to deliver a complete solution to customers including hardware and software, as well as simplifying renewals and contract variation processes.
It will give Cirralto customers access to a tailored finance package to acquire equipment and services, amortised over a 36-month term.
Cirralto said the ability to offer hardware solutions in addition to its core software is expected to significantly lift the contract value of each customer agreement.
New “Poolbox” platform
Meanwhile, Cirralto continues to rollout its Poolbox cloud-based and fully-integrated solution, launched this year as a “revolutionary new platform” enabling pool companies to seamlessly integrate point of sale, payments, accounting, service scheduling and water testing functions.
The product is designed to eliminate the need for multiple data entry actions, allowing for greater efficiencies and accuracy at an administrative level.
It also offers improved control over sales, financials, inventory management and service engagement.
Cirralto said a typical Poolbox agreement will include an initial implementation phase plus a three-year software as a service (SaaS) contract invoiced monthly.
The company hopes to secure multi-site Poolbox contracts with franchise and independent pool retail operators.